The String Quartet Tribute to New Order and Joy Division

Have you ever wondered what your favorite rock song would sound like if done by a string quartet? I’m not talking about Muzak here, I’m talking about a string quartet dedicated to keeping the essence and soul of the song while performing it with nothing but classical stringed instruments. 

The String Quartet Tribute to New Order and Joy Division is the only one of this series I have so far, but I may be purchasing more. On this particular disc the music of the post-punk geniuses is performed by Eric Gorfain and The Section. But even if you’re not a fan of Joy Division or New Order, you may be interested in pursuing this series. Why? Because other editions pay tribute to such diverse artists as: REM, Led Zeppelin, Weezer, Tori Amos, and Fleetwood Mac, among many, MANY others.

Admittedly, there’s just enough of an ethereal and classical ambience to much of the music by Joy Division and New Order to make the transition toward performing their songs by a string quartet perhaps not quite as jarring as hearing, say, Jimi Hendrix, which is another of the many, MANY artists deemed worthy of a String Quartet Tribute album. (In case you aren’t familiar with the story, New Order was formed by three of the members of Joy Division following the suicide of the band’s lead singer Ian Curtis. 

Some of this history is included in the movie 24 Hour Party People and more will no doubt be included in the upcoming biopic about Curtis tentatively titled Control, due for release in 2007.) Certainly this is the case with such Joy Division songs as “Love Will Tear Us Apart” or “New Dawn Fades.”